I have pawed through my button basket so many times and yet, this time I found all these fabulous buttons I had never seen before. How could it be that before today I never noticed any of these. Maybe I’m seeing with new eyes, or looking for something different or maybe they weren’t there before.
Although I didn’t use any of these today, I couldn’t resist pulling the out and placing them together and looking at them. I thought about doing something with them, but in the end just took a picture and put them back in the basket.
At least now I know they are there, unless they really weren’t there before today and will be gone tomorrow. Maybe they’ll move on to someone else’s button basket or box or tin until they used again.
I have an old box of buttons that was my grandmother’s… same thing happens to me!
I can’t tell you how many hours of enchantment were spent going through my Nanny Calnon’s button boxes. She kept them in tins and they smelled like her attic but is was a place of riches for me. It was the perfect place to find that big heavy coat button to make spinners with and there were so many shiny buttons of metal, crystal and mother of pearl. I would also go through and find all of sets for buttons and then string them on thread for my Nanny. I inherited all of her sewing stuff and the button boxes are still my favorite and also my refuge in times of need. I get free antique mother of pearl buttons. Nanny never threw a garment away if it could be gleaned for its buttons, hooks, zippers, fur collars (I have some mink from that endevour) and fabric to be used for quilts. The rest was saved for rags.
I love that wooden flower button!
The old button box, a favorite place to spend an afternoon. I have acquired three people’s mother’s button boxes. I love going through the buttons. You can almost hear the chatter as they tell their stories.
I wonder if new generations of button boxes are being collected? I don’t think that young people cut off buttons like our mothers and grandmothers. I don’t. Mine is a collection of “extra” buttons that come on new garments. Sometimes I don’t even take them out of those tidy little plastic bags. The button and the tags go into the container.
Thanks for sharing, Maria.
oooh… what a great idea, and I love those little bags they come in. It’s the button collection for our time. There’s a piece of contemporary art in your button collection.
Maria, I’m catching up on your website … I’m a part of a group of lovely people who gather once a month to discuss a chosen topic (we’ve done such subjects as time, work, love, food and nourishment) … it’s amazing all the directions, the insights, the variety, the creativity, expressed! And then, we end with a scrumptuous lunch, all potluck.
Anyway, what does this have to do with buttons? Last month we chose “buttons and boxes”, and you can’t imagine all the places we went with that! Fascinating idea….